As wireless communication becomes more and more popular at offices, homes, and schools, different wireless technologies and applications may work in tandem to meet the demand for computing and communications at anytime and/or anywhere. For example, a variety of wireless communication networks may co-exist in a single platform to provide a wireless environment with more computing and/or communication capability, greater mobility, and/or eventually seamless roaming.
In particular, wireless personal area networks (WPANs) may offer fast, short-distance connectivity within a relatively small space such as an office workspace or a room within a home. Wireless local area networks (WLANs) may provide broader range than WPANs within office buildings, homes, schools, etc. Wireless metropolitan area networks (WMANs) may cover a greater distance than WLANs by connecting, for example, buildings to one another over a broader geographic area. Wireless wide area networks (WWANs) may provide an even broader range as such networks are widely deployed in cellular infrastructure.
There is ongoing interest in developing and deploying mobile networks which may facilitate transfer of information at broadband bandwidth and rates. These networks are colloquially referred to herein as broadband wireless access (BWA) networks and may include networks operating in conformance with one or more protocols specified by the 3.sup.rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and its derivatives or the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 standards (e.g., IEEE 802.16-2005) although the embodiments discussed herein are not necessarily so limited. IEEE 802.16 compliant BWA networks are sometimes referred to as WiMAX networks, an acronym that stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, which is a certification mark for products that pass conformity and interoperability tests for the IEEE 802.16 standards
In modeling the deployment and implementation of WiMAX networks, there are ongoing questions on how to best integrate cooperation between network service providers (NSPs), which are the providers that operate network infrastructure and provide wireless access to subscribers, Application Service Providers (ASPs), and Internet Application Service Providers (iASPs) (e.g., GOOGLE®, YAHOO®, etc.), which are providers that offer aggregated content on the public Internet Protocol (IP) networks including content providers (CPs) and/or Internet advertisers (IAs). A Universal Services Interface (USI) has been developed as a framework for specifying required WiMAX network interfaces towards trusted third party ASPs and iASPs. These network interfaces allow exposure of WiMAX network capabilities and mobile user information in a secure and controlled manner.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity. Further, where considered appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements.